The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-12-17
THE FUTURE MAN.
BY BILL ME.

| W W IouAHH LO tuS American people, or create a panic, desire briefly and seriously to discuss the great question. "Whither are we drifting?" and what is 10 be the con- dition of the coming man? We can- not shut our eyes to the fact that man. kind is passing through great era of change; even womankind is not built as she was few brief years ago. And is it not time, fellow-citizens, that we pause to consider what is to be the fu- ture of the American?
 Food itself has been the subject of change both in the matter of material and preparation. This must affect the consumer in such way as to some day bring about great changes. Take, for instance, the oyster, one of our comparatively modern food and game fishes, and watch the effects of science upon him. Now we take a herd of oysters off the trail, all run down, and feed them artificially till they swell up to a fancy size and bring a fancy price. Now, where will all this lead at last? l ask as careful scientist. Instead of eating apples, as Adam did, we work the fruit up into applejack and pie, while even the simple oyster is perverted, and, instead of allowing him to fatten up in the fall on acorns and ancient mariners, flesh is arti- ficially put on his bones by the arti- ficial osmose and dialysis of our ad- vanced civilization. How can you make an oyster stout or train him down by making him jerk health lift so many hours every day, or cultivate his body at the expense of his mind, without ultimately not only impair ing the future usefulness of the oyster himself, but at the same time affecting the future of the human race?
 only use the oyster as an illustra- tion, end do not wish to cause alarm, but I say that if we stimulate the oyster artlflcially and swell him up by scientific means we not only do so at the expense of his better nature and keep him away from his family, but we are making our mark on the future race of men. Oyster fattening is now, of course, in it's infancy. Only few years ago an effort was made to tatten cove oysters at St. Louis while in the can, but the system was not we'll un- derstood and those who had i: in charge only succeeded in making the can itself more plump. But now oysters are kept on ground feed and given nothing to do tor few weeks, and even the older and overworked, sway backed and rickety oysters of the dim and murky past are made to fill out and many of them have to put gore in the waistband of their shells. l only speak of the oyster incidentally as one of the objects towards which science has turned its attention, and I assert with the utmost confidence that the time will come, unless science should get set back, when the pres ent hunting case oyster will give place to the open face oyster, grafted on the octopus and big enough to feed 8 hotel. Further than that, the oyster of the future will carry in hip- pocket flask of vinegar, half dozen lemons and two little Japanese bot ties, one of which will contain salt and the other pepper, and there will be some way provided by which you can tell which is which. But are we improving the oyster now? That is question we may we'll ask ourselves. Is this healthy fat which we are putting on him or is it bloat? And what will be the result in the home life of the oyster? We take him from all home influences what ever in order to make swell of him by our modern methods, but do we improve his condition morally, and what is to be the great final result on man?
 The reader will see by the questions l ask that am true scientist. Give me an overcoat pocket full of lower case interrogation marks and a medi- cal report to run to, and 1 can speak on the matter of science and advance ment till Reason totters on her throne.
 But food and oysters do not alone affect the great pregnant future. Our race is being tempered with not only by means of adulterations, political combinations and climatic changes, but even our methods of relaxation are productive of peculiar physical con- ditions, malformations and some more things of that kind.
 Cigarette smoking produces flabby and endogenous condition of the optic nerve, and constant listening at tele- phone and always with the same ear gradually decreases the power of the other ear till it finally just stands around drawing it's salary, but &C., tually refusing to hear any thing. Car rying an eight pound cane makes man lopsided, and the muscular and nervous strain that is necessary to re- tain single eyeglass and keep it out of the soup, year after year, draws the mental stimulus that should go to the